Where have all the 'brand name' analysts gone?

WHEN this writer started work as a journalist in The Business Times in 1992, it was obvious that local stockbroking firms recognised that one way to carve niches for themselves in a competitive marketplace was through their research functions.

This was possibly due to the inclusion of around 200 mainly second-line and therefore relatively unknown Malaysian stocks on Clob International here shortly after the Stock Exchange of Singapore split from its Malaysian counterpart in 1990, an inclusion which meant research teams had to be quickly beefed up to provide adequate coverage.

Over the next five to six years, prominent "brand name" analysts emerged, individuals who were mainly heads of research whose expert views were regularly sought by the media.